Arm for automatically guiding a road vehicle along a guide rail

ABSTRACT

An improved automatic guiding arm having a deformable hinged frame like construction controlled by an actuator. The actuator raises and lowers the end of the frame like construction which supports a pair of guide wheels in a &#34;V&#34; shaped arrangement for engaging a guide rail. The axially supported wheels may be mutually pivotable about a transaxial shaft and controlled by an angle control member hinged to the actuator. Through the angle control member the actuator can automatically control the transaxial pivoting and angle of the wheels as well as the tilt of the angle control member during raising and lowering operations of the guide arm. The guide arm is useful for automatically steering public transportation vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved arm for automaticallyguiding a road vehicle along a guide rail.

The applicant has proposed a basic solution in prior French PatentApplication No. 93 06491, relating to a unit for automatically guiding aroad vehicle along a guide rail.

The prior art device will be described below to provide a betterunderstanding of the improved embodiment proposed by this invention.

The previously patented automatic guide system comprises a lifting guidearm articulated to the end of the chassis of a road vehicle. At itsfront extremity, the guide arm has a guide head with means forpropelling it along a guide rail on a roadway at the base of a gorge.

The guide arm is articulated to a structure at the front end of thechassis on two crossed pivot axles, one consisting of a rocker axle forraising the arm, and the other consisting of a vertical pivot axis fordirectional movement.

The body of the arm is formed of two juxtaposed longitudinal housingswhich are raised or lowered using an articulated actuator.

The front extremity of the housings has a guide head equipped with twointerconnected guide wheels in a downward-pointing V-shaped arrangement,maintained at a fixed angle on the track.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is a protective support in front of the guide head.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved arm whereinthe guide wheels, also arranged in a "V", are pivotably articulated toeach other, and in which there is a device to automatically engage andgrip the guide wheels, maintaining them on the rail, as well as toautomatically release and separate them in an initial phase before thearms are raised. This device also automatically locks the guide head inworking position and locks the guide wheels on the rails. It is adjustedso the guide wheels grip the rail lightly after contacting it.

Additionally, the actuator controls a hinged unit consisting of adeformable parallelogram. The actuator controls all the functions, suchas raising the arm, placing it in working position, positioning theguide wheels next to each other, and releasing them.

In addition to the general advantages described in the prior invention,the improved embodiment has many important, specific features.

The guide wheels are designed to absorb the slight separation occurringas they deviate on curves.

The device which releases and reconnects the guide wheels raises andlowers the arm quickly and precisely, and it engages and disengages thewheels from the rail smoothly.

The device which automatically locks and unlocks the mechanical gripmaintaining the guide wheels on the rail edges completes the automaticoperation of the directional guide system and eliminates the possibilityof sudden shocks causing a derailment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

The technical characteristics and other advantages of the invention areoutlined in the ensuing description, offered as a non-limiting exampleof one embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general view, in perspective, of the improved automaticguide arm engaged on a guide rail;

FIG. 2 is an oblique perspective of the fight front unit with one of theguide wheels in cross-section;

FIG. 3 is an oblique perspective of the left front unit with one of theguide wheels in cross-section;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-section of a pair of guide wheels inworking position, that is, while moving along the guide rail;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are transverse cross-sections of a pair of guide wheelsshowing the right-angled element which releases the guide wheelsupports;

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are side views showing the position of thearticulating elements when the arm is in the main kinematic phases;

FIG. 10 is a perspective of the left side showing an embodiment with aconical actuation device;

FIG. 11 is a perspective of the right side showing an embodiment with aconical separation device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

The improved, lifting, automatic guide arm according to the inventionconstitutes the primary directional unit in automatic directional guidesystem for a guide rail.

In this automatic directional guide system, the directional sensorconsists of a guide arm 1 articulated to a Cardan joint on an endsupport 2 of the chassis of a road vehicle, constituting an articulatingcenter 3 formed of a pivot block 4 extending laterally into adirectional control lever 5. The pivot-block is pivotably attached to avertical directional axle 6 and a horizontal rocker axle 7 traversingthe pivot block 4, which supports guide arm 1 as it is raised andlowered vertically.

Guide arm 1 is shaped like an elongate rectilinear body with adeformable, hinged frame-like construction, consisting of severalextensions of the same length articulated to two pivot axles of fixedheight, which are interconnected first at the front by the lastextension, and also at the back by an extension fixed in the plane ofthe arm's upward movement. The arm is formed, first, of an oblique lowerstructure 8 of constant length, pivotably connected at its upper end topivot-block 4 by the horizontal rocker axle 7, and at its lower end 9,to the mechanical unit of a guide head 10 by a lower pivoting axle 11.Guide head 10 forms the last extension. The frame is then formed of theupper extension, an articulating connecting arm 12, which, together withoblique lower structure 8 and the other elements such as the lastextension, comprise the deformable frame hereinafter referred to asarticulated deformable parallelogram unit 13.

Lower oblique structure 8 consists of two parallel oblique rods 14 and15, while connecting arm 12 is formed of a central lever 16 pivotablyarticulated first, by an upper pivoting axle 17, to upper forked element18, and secondly, to a mechanical connector block 19 by front pivot axle20. Mechanical connector block 19 extends into a protective support 21at the front, and at the rear, extends as far as lower pivoting axle 11,which it supports, and to which oblique rods 14 and 15 are connected.This constitutes articulated unit 13 which is deformable when actuatedby actuator 22 contacting each of its extremities. Upper extremity 23 ofactuator 22 is pivotably articulated to upper forked element 18 near itsfree end by a pivot axle 24, and the lower extremity 25 of actuator 22is pivotably articulated by axle 26 to a portion 27 of an angle controlmember for engaging the guide wheels on the guide rail or releasingthem.

The guide wheel angle control member, influenced by the push or pull ofactuator 22, using an angle element 27 which moves in relation to theguide head, releases or reconnects the guide wheels and locks them atthe end of a course.

The specific elements involved will now be examined in more detail.

The angle control member is composed of the angle element 27 pivotablyarticulated to the extremity of the actuator shaft, either separately,or together with lower pivoting axle 11.

The guide head is equipped with directional means formed of two guidewheels 28 and 29 in a downward-pointing V-shaped arrangement, attachedto two guide wheel supports 30 and 31 pivotably interconnected by anaxle 32 or 33 which is lower or higher than angle element 27.

In the embodiment shown, one of the guide wheels is attached at anangle. The guide wheels move closer together or separate as one wheelmoves in relation to the other.

In working position, the guide wheels lightly grip the edges of a guiderail 34 which engages them. They are maintained locked in position byslight pressure from the actuator, or by the play of the slight angleformed by the angle member, or by some other means.

They are held by two guide wheel supports 30 and 31 of variable shape,arranged so that the guide wheels 28 and 29 form a downward-pointing"V". The drive axles of the guide wheels are located on the outersurfaces of these supports.

A control device exerts a force which separates and moves togethereither one or both of the guide wheel supports, more specifically,actuator means 27 which is articulated to the extremity of the shaft ofactuator 22.

Angle control member 27 can function in various ways. In general, itcauses at least one of the guide wheel supports to pivot in relation tothe other by displacing one guide wheel support.

Two embodiments of the numerous possible variations of angle controlmember 27 will be described herein: one with a right-angled design andone with a rod having a conical tip.

According to the first embodiment, guide wheel supports 30 and 31together define a space which accommodates angle control member 27,which causes at least one of the two guide wheel supports to pivot ontheir common pivoting axle when it moves.

According to this first embodiment, the angle control member is a shoe35 with a right-angled front portion 36.

The rear portion of this actuator has a projecting lateral plate 37articulating it to the end of the actuator shaft. The lower portion 38of the angle control member, generally angular, is pivotably articulatedto the lower pivoting axle 11. In the embodiment shown, the frontsurface of the angled lower portion is the abutting surface 39 for atransverse element used to tip and raise the arm.

As indicated previously, the front extremity of the angle controlelement forms a right angle. The corner has a flat lateral uprightsurface, and an upper vertical surface extending downward into angledplane 40, and a flat lateral left surface 41, which is appropriatelyangled. Pivotably articulated guide wheel supports 30 and 31 each haveflat, opposing interior lateral surfaces. Right support 30 is angled andhas a fiat interior lateral surface, which inclines from the vertical asleft support 31 tilts, and has a fiat interior lateral surface 42, whichinclines to the same extent as articulated lateral surface 41 oppositefight-angled extremity 36.

The interior opposing lateral surfaces define a space which has at leastone lateral wall capable of angular displacement.

These surfaces provide a sloped ramp which pushes control shoe 35,consisting here of the angled element, whose divergent end surfacesconvert its forward and backward motion into a motion which separatesthe lateral walls of the receptor space, thus moving the guide wheelstogether to engage and grip the rail edges, locking onto them.

It should be noted here that the locking action may result either fromthe pressure remaining on the actuator after it is pushed, or from theangle of the angle control element, which is smaller than that of thefight-angled angle control member, or by some other means.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show the general relative functions of the arm andguide wheel movements.

The lifting operation takes place in three phases, illustrated insuccession by the above drawings, which can be viewed in conjunctionwith the transverse cross-section drawings.

Initially, the arm is in the lowered position, with the guide wheelsengaging the rail, that is, gripping the rail lightly.

In this state, shoe 35 abuts the base of the receptor space and itsfront extremity, forming an angle control element for the guide wheels,is pushed down by the actuator and remains locked in this position dueto slight pressure from the actuator or some other means. The anglecontrol member first forces the left guide wheel to grip the railitself, then the opposite guide wheel, in a mechanical reaction, doesthe same.

The raising operation begins when the guide wheel is released. It isreleased by the simple backward tilting movement of shoe 35 on axle 11as the actuator moves. During this operation, the front extremity ofshoe 35 lifts and thus disengages the left guide wheel support frommovement.

The backward tilting movement of shoe 35 marks a stop, as the frontsurface of the lower extremity of the fight-angled portion then contactsthe opposite abutting surface.

The continuing push of the actuator repositions the elements ofdeformable unit 13: oblique interior structure 8 moves toward the upperportion of the arm at the same time as the arm extends slightly, intothe position shown in FIG. 9, where the arm is raised and the guidewheels are released.

Thus, the invention offers a mechanism which automatically raises andcontrols the angled guide wheels, activated solely by an actuator whichcontrols the various functions and their successive effects.

The pull of the actuator automatically releases the guide wheels insuccession and raises the unit.

Conversely, the push of the actuator lowers the unit and locks theangled guide wheels in engagement with the guide rail.

According to the second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, theactuator is an angled shaft 43 with a conical extremity whose forward orreverse rectilinear movement is convened into an action that causesfight guide wheel support 44 and left guide wheel support 45 to eitherseparate or move toward each other.

Angled shaft 43 has a fianged diametrical projection 46 at itsapproximate mid-point.

This angled shaft 43 is pivotably articulated to the extremity of theactuator shaft with a housing 47 traversed by lower pivoting axle 11.

In this embodiment, the mechanical connecting block of articulated unit13, reference numeral 48, always maintains guide wheel support 44 at afixed angle. On its upper edge there is a pivoting articulation 49connecting the variable angle support for left guide wheel 45.

Pivot axle 33, which holds the guide wheel supports and thus the guidewheels, is moved upward above angle member 43, and thus variable angleleft guide wheel support 45 utilizes a pendular technique. Theembodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 shows a mechanical block pivoting atthe top, with an oblique lateral outer guide wheel support surface andan upper extension traversed by the upper pivoting axis.

The body of left guide wheel support 45 comprises a receptor space usingthe same principle of converting translational movement into pivotingmovement, with the cooperation of a ramp that is conical, or simplyangled, with a movable control element exerting a force which moves theguide wheel supports 44 and 45 together, and releases them in theopposite direction.

Flange 46 provides a block between front and rear surfaces 50, 51 of anupper opening 52 which determines the direction of the actuator means.Additional pushing by the actuator causes articulated unit 13 to tiltand lift.

The guide wheels have a groove 53 contacting the edge 54 of guide rail34 as they follow the rail.

It is possible to use rails which are triangular, round, heart-shaped,or whatever, with the base 55 incorporating a soundproofing layer at thebottom of groove 56 of the prefabficated rectilinear channels 57comprising the rail.

Each of the guide wheels is identical in construction. They arecomposite structures formed of a longitudinal axle or a spindle axle 58integral with each guide wheel support, connected to a rotating hub 59by a bearing 60.

There is a tread 61 in the peripheral groove of hub 59 joined by a layer62 on the rim 63 made of elastic material, such as elastomer, formed oftwo washers 64 and 65 arranged in a "V", constituting a deformableintermediate element which absorbs the displacements caused byfunctional play, as well as lateral deviation on curves.

These flexible treads form a cushion against vibrations and provideelectrical insulation.

Thus, the invention offers a system for engaging two guide wheels onrails, which is self-locking either due to the pressure of the actuatoror the play between a slightly inclined ramp and the angle controlmember.

The technical forms and functions allow the actuator to automaticallyseparate the guide wheels during the first lifting phase, then to movethem together and engage the rail during the final lowering phase.

The protective support 21 in front of the guide wheels is formed of aconcave arm 66 extending into a horizontal transverse plate 67 locatedjust above the rail. The support is integral with the deformable,articulated unit, and it retracts along with it when the unit is raised.

I claim:
 1. A lifting guide am for automatically guiding a road vehiclealong a guide rail, said lifting guide arm comprising:a movable supporthaving a guide portion and a control portion, said control portion beingarticulably supportable by a vehicle via an articulated joint, saidarticulated joint having a vertical directional axle and a horizontalrocker axle, and said articulated joint being mechanically controlled bya directional control mechanism; an actuator being attached between saidarticulated joint and said guide portion of said movable support foradjustably positioning said movable support; a first guide wheel supportand a second guide wheel support respectively supporting a first guidewheel and a second guide wheel, said first and second guide wheels beingarranged in a V-shaped configuration with each of said first and secondguide wheels having a circumferential groove formed therein for engaginga portion of said guide rail, and both of said guide wheel supportsbeing mounted on said guide portion; wherein at least one of said guidewheel supports is pivotally mounted to said guide portion, via a guidewheel support pivot, to allow relative movement between said first andsecond guide wheels and facilitate engagement and disengagement of saidfirst and second guide wheels with a portion of said guide rail.
 2. Thelifting guide arm according to claim 1, wherein said movable supportfurther comprises:a deformable parallelogram unit articulable by saidactuator in a vertical plane, and said actuator has an upper extensionand a lower extension for adjusting said deformable parallelogram unitbetween a raised and a lowered position; said upper and lower extensionsare connected to an upper and a lower actuator axle, and a height ofsaid upper actuator axle remains constant as said lower actuator axle isat least one of raised and lowered by said actuator; said lower actuatoraxle is located adjacent to, and cooperating with, said guide wheelsupports for at least one of raising, lowering and pivoting said guidewheels during raising and lowering operations.
 3. The lifting guide armaccording to claim 1, wherein said first guide wheel support is fixedand said second guide wheel support is movable about said guide wheelsupport pivot, relative to the fixed guide wheel support, via an anglecontrol member cooperating with said actuator.
 4. The lifting guide armaccording to claim 3 wherein said fixed guide wheel support forms aleading edge of said deformable parallelogram.
 5. The lifting guide armaccording to claim 1, wherein said first and second guide wheel supportsare maintained in a fixed position, relative to one another, during atleast one of a raising and a lowering operation of said movable support.6. The lifting guide arm according to claim 3, wherein said anglecontrol member has an upper and a lower portion and said guide wheelsupport pivot is located below said lower portion of said angle controlmember.
 7. The lifting guide arm according to claim 3, wherein saidangle control member is a tiltable shoe controlled by said actuator, viasaid lower actuator axle, and said actuator controls the tilt of saidshoe by rotating said shoe about a lower pivoting axle of saiddeformable parallelogram; andsaid shoe carries said guide wheel supportssuch that lowering of said shoe adjusts at least one of said guide wheelsupports whereby said first and second guide wheels are brought intoproximity with one another for engagement with said rail, and when saidshoe is raised said at least one guide wheel support is readjustedthereby separating said first and second guide wheels from one anotherto facilitate disengagement from said rail.
 8. The lifting guide armaccording to claim 7, wherein an extremity of said shoe has an inclinedsurface which cooperates with a substantially equally inclined andopposite rear surface of the adjustable guide wheel supports so thatsaid shoe moves at least one of said first and second guide wheelsupports, and thereby the guide wheels, to facilitate engagement anddisengagement from said rail, during at least one of a lowering and araising operation.
 9. The lifting guide arm according to claim 3,wherein said actuator maintains said angle control member locked in saidlowered position via a locking mechanism.
 10. The lifting guide amaccording to claim 3, wherein said actuator is constantly pressurizedwith fluid, when said angle control member is in said lowered position,thereby to maintain said guide wheels in a locked position.
 11. Thelifting guide arm according to claim 8, wherein said inclined surface ofsaid angle control member has a slope.
 12. The lifting guide armaccording to claim 6, wherein said guide wheel support pivot is locatedabove said upper portion of said angle control member.
 13. The liftingguide arm according to claim 3, wherein said angle control membercomprises:a rod coupled to said actuator for controlling movement ofsaid rod, said rod has a conical extremity for engaging and pivoting atleast one said guide wheel support relative to said rod movement, andsaid rectilinear movement of said rod is limited by a front stop and arear stop.
 14. The lifting guide arm according to claim 11, wherein eachsaid guide wheel further comprises:a rotatable hub; a rim supported bysaid hub, and said rim has a circumferential groove formed therein; anda tread of flexible insulating material is secured circumferentiallyaround said rim, within said groove, for engagement with said railduring use of said movable support.
 15. The lifting guide arm accordingto claim 14, wherein a deformable intermediate layer is interposedbetween said hub and said rim, and said deformable intermediate layerhas a truncated V-shape section formed therein by first and secondjuxtaposed conical washers.